Pompilus ( grc, Πομπίλος, Pompilos, pilot fish) is a minor character in
Greek mythology who incurred the wrath of the god
Apollo when he foiled the god's plans as he was chasing the nymph
Ocyrhoe.
Mythology
During a festival in honour of
Artemis in the city of
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
, in western
Asia Minor, the god
Apollo became infatuated with
Ocyrhoe, a young Samian nymph, daughter of a local river god in
Samos. Apollo chased Ocyrhoe, but she ran away from him. Finally she reached the shore and there she ran into Pompilus, a seafarer and old family friend of her father
Imbrasos Imbrasos ( grc, Ἴμβρασος, el, Ίμβρασος Imvrasos), is a river on the Greek island of Samos. The source of the river is located on mount Ambelos, near the village of . From there it flows southeast to and then enters the sea on the ...
. Pompilus agreed to let her board his boat, and transferred her to the nearby island of Samos. But as they reached the coast of Samos, they found Apollo waiting for them in there. Apollo grabbed Ocyrhoe and turned Pompilus into a
pilot fish as a punishment for trying to sabotage his plans.
[ Claudius Aelianus, ''De Natura Animalium']
15.23
/ref> Both authors who mention this tale, Athenaeus and Claudius Aelianus, quote second century BC author Apollonius of Rhodes.
See also
* Aglaurus
* Caanthus :''Caanthus is also a synonym of the cylindrical bark beetle genus Ciconissus.''
In Greek mythology, Caanthus or Kaanthos (; Ancient Greek: Κάανθος) was the son of Oceanus and Tethys, and the brother of Melia, who was the consort of Apol ...
* Psalacantha
References
Bibliography
* Athenaeus, '' The Learned Banqueters, Volume V: Books 10.420e-11. Edited and translated by S. Douglas Olson.'' Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...
274. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
* Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to:
* Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century, who lived in Rome
* Casperius Aelianus, Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan
* Claudius Aelianus, Roman writer, teacher and historian of the 3rd centu ...
, ''On Animals, Volume III: Books 12-17'', translated by A. F. Scholfield, Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...
No. 449, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959
Online version at Harvard University Press
.
{{Authority control
Deeds of Apollo
Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology
Anatolian characters in Greek mythology